Dueling Perspectives

Pathetic. Lackluster. Frustrating. Profoundly irriating. Just when you think the Mets are getting going, just when you think we're back in gear, just when you think the cobwebs have been fully shaken off, just when you think a new mindset has finally taken over, it's the same old inconsistency. The same old up and down malaise that's been with us for over a year now.

The Mets win 5 in a row, take two of three from Philadelphia in their own building, and only fail to sweep the series when a second-rate shortstop pulls a play from Ozzie Smith's playbook straight out of his ass. Then, as if one tough, hard-fought loss somehow threatens to tear down all that is good and holy in the world, we lose two ugly games to the Cubs at Wrigley, 7 and 8 to 1.

Neither game got blown open until the eighth inning, but in either case it's not like the Mets had a chance anyway. We scored runs on a double play (Monday) and an RBI groundout. In general, we looked like a fresh-out-of-little league prepubescent seventh grader trying to hit high school pitching. Strikeout. Tapper. Pop-up. Soft groundball to short. It seemed like there was no solid contact in this series.

Carlos Delgado

Where does the malaise stop? The Mets don't have to be collapsing to be nothing better than a sorry group of .500 ball-playing underachievers. At a certain point Willie needs to be held accountable.

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Now wait just a second. It's still early. We've seen some good things. That five-game winning streak was encouraging. We took a couple of tough losses, but how many runs could you have expected us to score off of Zambrano on Monday night, anyway?

The Mets still have to play 88% of their games. We've had some injury problems - when Brian Schneider gets back we can hit Ryan Church in the 2-hole again...the offense was really clicking when he was up there. Pedro'll be back in a couple months. Moises Alou will make our lineup more balanced and our offense more potent. Duaner Sanchez still has to work himself back to full strength; when he does, that's another reliable reliever that Willie can turn to more frequently.

Speaking of Willie, you can't always blame the manager. It's not his fault. He's all ABOUT fundamental baseball, but he can't keep Carlos Delgado from making senseless mental errors in the field. Willie's approach is exactly what this team needs right now. It's a long season, and we all just need to chill. The Mets have too much going for them to not be able to get going.

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If the Mets do indeed still have 88% of their games to play, this season might kill me. There's nothing more frustrating than watching wasted potential. Wasn't Johan Santana supposed to bring a new attitude to this team? We were confident, right? Ready to go out and get it done on the field...is this team too mentally fragile to handle the slightest bit of adversity?

To borrow another little league analogy, the Mets are the team with all the big kids who can hit home runs and pitch fast but can't get a hold of themselves when they strike out or make an error, or get a bad call from an umpire. I guess the Phillies, in this analogy, would be the team with all the skinny kids who might make some mistakes but never quit and as a result probably end up winning some games (and division titles) that they shouldn't.

The hardest outs to get against the Phillies are the last nine. The Mets, collectively, are like a loud hyper-active puppy who yelps and runs away with its tail between its legs the first time it gets yelled at. No fight. If the Mets are down, they're probably out.

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But what about Sunday night? They WANTED that game. What are you going to do about Eric Bruntlett, it was a fluke play. If the Mets didn't have any fight, they wouldn't have even come back from that defecit in the first place.

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They can want the game all they want, they probably wanted to win the division last year, too. But the fact is, if they had it in them they would have found a way to pull it out. That's not even the issue though. I'm not complaining about the Phillies series.

The Mets have two - TWO - five game winning streaks in the last year-plus, now. The bigger issue is the fact that they can't seem to play well, consistently. And this goes back to what I was saying about Willie. That IS his fault. Whether he's just a bad motivator, or his approach is wrong for this team, or he's just not connecting with his players, whatever the case - they can't get anything meaningful going. 2006 FEELS like a long time ago.

When is he under fire?

The Mets should have roared out of the gate this season. Even without Pedro. Clearly something is still hanging over their heads.

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I wouldn't pay much attention to that. As I mentioned, the Mets do have a few other injury issues, too. And the thing about this year is that where last year the Mets were allowed to strut around arrogantly playing up-and-down, .500 ball for most the summer, this season the fans, the media, the Mets' brass, everyone's on notice. No one's going to let them slide the way everyone did last season. And remember, we're still missing Alou and Pedro.

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Alou and Pedro, Alou and Pedro. We got those two guys back last summer, too. Did a lot of good, right? I'm talking about the underlying mindset with this team. Whether they're scared, or emotionally fragile...I don't think they're passionless, they definitely want to be doing well.

The point is, Willie's level-headed approach doesn't seem to be working with this team. Someone better light a fire under these guys. Maybe the cloud of 2007 won't disappear until Willie does...

You're right, it is still early. But the jury won't be out for much longer.

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Give it some time. Johan's pitching tonight.

I'm all torn up inside.


(Photos courtesy completist.wordpress.com, nymag.com)